An article recently published by Refugees International (RI) provides a very thorough report on conditions in Sudan—with emphasis on refugees fleeing to the Nuba mountains.

For Persecution Project, this report is part of an encouraging development because more and more international organizations and media houses are taking note of the growing crisis in Sudan, and, specifically, how one region (the Nuba) is providing a relative safe haven for refugees.

While other parts of the country controlled by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) or the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) routinely turn international aid into weapons to punish their enemies or enrich themselves, RI’s report reveals how the Nuba mountains is the one place where help is actually making it to those who need it most. 

For this reason, RI recommends the UN and other international agencies begin to focus efforts on getting more help to the Nuba— which is exactly what Persecution Project has been actively doing since fighting renewed in 2011!

Even during the years of frequent bombings and ground incursions, the Nuba was still a relative haven for Sudanese fleeing brutal persecution by the SAF and RSF (who were formerly allied together). 

However, the Nuba remained closed to most aid organizations (as it technically still is today), whose charters often obligate them to cooperate with the very government committing crimes against the Sudanese people. Now that this government no longer exists in massive swaths of the country, there is an openness by some organizations to unilaterally engage directly with communities needing help. 

We hope this means the world is finally waking up to what’s really happening in Sudan, who the real enemies are, and the consequential responsibility of those seeking to help.  

Hopefully this new awareness and focus will translate into more “active compassion for the persecuted.” For our part, Persecution Project will continue to do what we’ve done in Sudan for more than 25 years. We will engage directly with the local Church seeking to minister to their communities and congregations. We will continue to refuse to cooperate with those entities and individuals we believe are responsible for the violence and misery in Sudan today. 

Above all, we will strive to be witnesses of the Gospel message of repentance, love, and reconciliation. But we can only do this because of God working through the willing hearts of our ministry partners. Thank you!